The Problem With Social Media

I love social media.

Honestly, I love it. I love the pictures. I love the stories. I love connecting with my long distance friends, and I love having a way to watch what is happening in their lives even when we don’t have the time to connect.

I love the random news stories that I see. I love the ads, believe it or not. I mean, the random recipes and awesome deals on shoes and last minute steals on flights are all pretty awesome.

So, what’s the problem?

The problem is this: Everyone has a problem with social media.

Humans are looking for a reason to judge one another, and social media is a super hub for judgment.

There’s racism and all of its hateful comments that can be found directed at almost any given demographic. There’s the violent remarks and threats directed at those with beliefs unfamiliar to us. There’s the political debates, which would be fine were they to remain healthy and honoring, yet they most often do not. There’s the absurd comments made to those who are wearing clothes we ourselves find to be less than our personal standard.

There’s the crowd of individuals who hate when moms post pictures of their babies every day. There’s the crowd who hates when couples are unafraid to show via social media just how much they love each each other, simply because they say it makes them “uncomfortable.” Usually, one crowd is guilty of the other, and vice versa.

The girl who hates when people post pictures of her food is guilty of posting her perfectly staged selfies, and the one who hates the selfies can’t stop with one post of her breakfast, but has to post ten.

The list goes on. And on.

The reality is, we all have our “thing” that we love to share. There’s something that makes each of us come to life, and we can’t help but share it. If, perhaps, we all conditioned ourselves to celebrate others, and see the beauty in their “thing,” it is possible the judgment would become less.

Unfortunately, we live in a state of overstimulation with media, and the beauty of sharing our lives with one another has been tainted by the pressures of society combined with our own weaknesses and insecurities. We want to show our best side, prove ourselves right, and be one step ahead of others in our maturity. Meanwhile, we fail to realize our own motives and the impact we have not only on others, but on ourselves.

It’s downright unhealthy, and we are losing ourselves in it.

What’s my point?

It has to stop.

How?

I don’t know that it stops overnight. In fact, it probably can’t. But here’s a tip to start:

Be fully, boldly, and confidently you. Share with the world that which you love- but do it because you genuinely love it so much that you can’t help but share it. Don’t do it to get attention or to paint a more vibrant picture of the you that you want people to see.

And while you are being fully, boldly, and confidently you, be sure to celebrate others doing that as well. In fact, go so far as to encourage them to do so.

And while you are sharing with the world that which you love, whether it is your food, your baby, your faith, your hobby- choose to believe that others are sharing for the same reason.

And then, choose to respect it.

Celebrate it.

We need to find our way back to being genuinely happy for people and the things that make them come alive. It’s time with celebrate people at the level we long to be celebrated.

So today, I challenge you- find someone via social media and celebrate their happiness.